More reasons that art matters. The author shows how focused study of artworks can improve perception, analysis and decision-making in day-to-day and work activities that otherwise have nothing to do with art. You get better at noticing details and seeing the world more objectively. The author leads "Art of Perception" classes for FBI agents, police, medical personnel and other markets.
The book reminded me of a neat word/important concept: PENTIMENTO. Don’t let bad paint dry; comes from Italian for repentance. Whether the offending strokes are painted over or scratched off, do it ASAP so they don’t become permanent. (Applies to writing as well.)
This isn't a review -- just random notes:
Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life
Amy E. Herman
Since I was little, I had seen the art in everything.
Study surroundings like a painting.
See clearly, communicate effectively.
FBI art classes, docs, med tech.... Art of Perception
Flowers in psychiatric hospital - unexpected
Part 1: Assess:
From da Vinci to Steve Jobs: inventing starts with knowing what to see.
Retina is an active part of brain, not a passive pathway. Can learn to better tame the jungle of neurons.
Jan Steen 1669 Dutch partying.
The Goldfinch chained.Look at to increase your brain-processing speed.
Learn to be more facile shifting perspectives.
And situationally aware instead of autopilot.
Distraction lead to IQ loss. Me and FB.
Also, feeling always in a hurry.
And: viewing nearly everything through an LCD screen.
1. Put phone away.
2. Observe, not just see.
3. Decode as many stimuli as possible.
See a man's nationality in face, livelihood on his hands, his story in his gait, mannerisms, watch-chain ornaments and the lint adhering to his clothes.
Ball game: not notice woman with parasol or gorilla suit.
Exercise: look at, then, describe, then draw the painting.
* 1960s Phila physician Arthur Lintgen could read grooves of LP records, id the piece, how many movements. Studied, so he taught himself to see the bits of info.
At hotel, man shocked at soap replacement when plenty left. Turned into hotel soap recycling company.
Impoverished and other cultures cherish it.
A zipperless zipper inspired by burrs in nature changed the fashion industry but also made living and working in space possible. Velcro.
So, transformations.
Subjectivity based on own experiences and beliefs and values.
Perceptual filters
Assumptions: bed in same place, but what if it floated out to sea?
kenya nairobi attacks, so little info, and so many assumptions Couldn't discern terrorists.
COBRA -
Camouflaged
one thing at a time (concentrate don't multitask -- like study without checking FB or phone)
break 10 mins every 90 min
realign what seeking and seeing
Ask - another set of eyes
Big picture - visual learners most adept
inattentional blindness - NYC’s Linda Stein (lit agent) murder suspect's pants on inside out
Part 2: Analyze
Discovery = seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo upside down - see from diff angle.
Japanese Kaizen improvement teams walk around...used in Am health systems, auto factories.
McLean Farmers Market house on fire bkgrd - Chrysler museum of art.
Absence of an object, event, sense is a clue.
What don’t we see, and know.
A key driver: our own priorities.
3. Articulate
Objective language as a practice - avoid subjective and assumptive … always never obviously.
Period or decimal point in wrong place.
Lightning vs lightning bug.
Use inclusive language “what if we tried this?”
Saying too much often worse than too little.
Write down only your observations, not assumptions or inferences.
* Don’t let bad paint dry: PENTIMENTO. From the Italian word for repentance. Whether the offending strokes are painted over or scratched off, do it ASAP so they don’t become permanent. (Applies to writing as well. Letting bad paint/writing set will skew perception, change meaning, derail communication, etc.) It’s critical to add each stroke or sentence with care and intention. (Reminds me of measure twice, cut once.)
John Singer Sargent: when trying to make a name for himself, he painted a 7 ft portrait of an elegant married woman -- with one strap of dress fallen off-shoulder. This was considered scandalous. He attempted to reposition the strap but already this wrecked his reputation in Paris. He eventually sold it to the Met in 1916 with the condition it be named Madame X (and not identify the subject by name).
Repeat, rename, reframe. (Meditation/acceptance/labeling principle! To avoid creating and embedding a false interpretation/story in your mind that will distort your perception, attitude, judgment.)
Repeat: Andy Warhol, soup can, made it unforgettable.
Rename: Harvey Mackay - negotiation. Rename and you can persuade someone to agree to new terms. Such as: instead of contract change, call it contract extension.
Reframe (how you present the information and make it more compelling): ad copywriter changes blind man’s sign from “Blind. Please help.” to “It’s a beautiful day. You can see it, I cannot.” (Created empathy/connection.)
Communicate clearly, calmly, objectively during times of stress. (Personal, crime, medical situation….)
People often turn away from or block uncomfortable truths (David Hume).
So we miss info by doing that too.
Denial
Avoid judgment words like trashy, fancy.
Instead be specific: satin...sash.
Hieronymus Bosch The Garden of Earthly Delights 1500-1505
People look away
That’s why signs of child abuse are explained away.
Outsmart your emotions. Focus only on what is seen, heard….
Be aware of own emotional triggers, body lang, facial expression.
Visual pollution to one can seem like status quo to another (This is Water)
Reframe: instead of this is wrong, ask did you mean to, do I understand correctly….
I’m sorry there was a miscommunication.
Consider the effect your demeanor, words, expression are having on the situation.
Be neutral.
Adapt:
Be aware of bias: likes, unconscious, jumping to conclusions (such as elder care home stripper).
Assumptions. Stereotypes. Mom mistaken for nanny.
Caravaggio painting
Run by others to check validity of theory
Dark Knight shooting - tv viewers knew more than emergency workers.
Dangerous gray area.
Tylenol poisoning and Denny’s discrimination incident - investigate but take fast action to limit fallout: apologize, first priority safety, solve.
Objet trouve: make new art from found objects.
As humans, our brains want to compete things and constantly these days feel pressure to complete things. Realize that when analyzing and drawing conclusions.